Upgrade Cobra Mk3 to which ship?

[Frunobulax]

Hi,

I recently re-discovered Oolite - I think I played a very early version a long time ago, and of course I made elite status in the original Elite on a C64, a long long time ago
Anyway, I've been checking out a lot of OXPs and really feel like a child in a candystore. At the moment I love the flexibility - in my short oolite career I went from trader to bounty hunter to parcel/passenger courier to pirate to assassin. Made it to 1100 kills, a decently equipped Cobra and 230k spare cash at the moment.

Now, obviously I love my flexibilty that allows me to try out all these exciting OXPs, but found my Cobra to be insufficient recently. (Try jumping in a system and being greeted by 25 ships all shouting "you've picked the wrong client". Also, those random hits missions are quite challenging.) So I thought about upgrading my Cobra a bit, while still maintaining the flexibility to switch careers. Long-term I have set my sights on an Imperial Courier, which should be a great multi-purpose ship. But since I have a long way to go until I can affort that, I thought about getting an intermediate ship that is a bit better than the Cobra but cheaper than the Imperial Courier. The problem is, I can't find that ship, or maybe I just can't decide, or I'm missing something. Spend hours scouting OXP ships... So please chime in

* First I thought I should get a big freighter, and make money with cargo/passenger contracts until I can afford something better. A Python is a lousy fighter - I found the Python Courier, which has the major drawback that it's just awfully slow. But milk runs get boring very fast, and I wondered how I could make money with contracts if I can't run away. (One favorite tactic if met by a wolfpack of ships is injecting away, hoping that only 4 ships or so can follow, and turning and fighting after the other ships dropped out of scanner range.)

* Then I found the Military Stingray. But the OXP is no longer linked, and anyway it seems to me that the ship is just too powerful for that price (should be about as good as the Imperial Courier). So that was not an option.

* Then I went for a Cobra Courier, thinking that it had 55kt of cargo space (http://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Cobra_Courier lists the cargo bay extension as 35kt) which would have been just what the doctor ordered - and was rather disappointed that it has only 35kt too. After fitting it with all the nice upgrades I realized that I just invested 230k cash for a seemingly marginal upgrade (one more energy bar, a bit more speed). So I rolled back to my old Cobra.

* A Boa 2 Clipper looks very nice from the specs. Of course it's almost as expensive as the Imperial Courier.

* Thought about a Venom or a Venom Renegade, but they don't allow military shields. (Why would one build a ship that is a better fighter than the Cobbie that but has no military shields?) Still, I wondered if that was correct and tried to find an entry in shipdata.plist that controls whether a ship is allowed to have military shields. Is this has_shield_enhancer?

* After some searching I came across the Paladin (http://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Paladin) and the Boomslang (http://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Boomslang). Maybe these are what I'm looking for?

So, what's your recommendation? Is there a nice intermediate ship between the Cobbie and ships like the Imperial Courier?

Regards, F.

[Lone_Wolf]

[wiki]Cobra_Mark_III-XT[/wiki]
[wiki]D.T.T._Ship_Builders_Inc.[/wiki] check the Tomahawk and Snake Charmer

My personal upgrade path went like this :
cobra3
[wiki]Feudal_States[/wiki] challenges to get enough money for next ship and upgrades
cobra III-XT, maximize parcel reputation
[wiki]Clippers[/wiki] Boa Clipper - max contract rep
FerdeLance 3G+(t) https://bb.oolite.space/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=9415

[Imaginos]

After my bog standard Cobra Mark III, I upgraded to the Cobra Mark III-XT. I did try a Python for a while but as you have discovered, it's tediously slow. I'm considering a Wolf Mark II next but as I currently only have around 280Cr, it may take a while.

[Smivs]

I try not to plug my own stuff too much (honest!), but as you've looked at the Python (too slow) and the Boa Clipper (too expensive) maybe meet in the middle - Python Clipper?

[ffutures]

The route I'm currently going with a pilot I started last month was earn a bit of cash, sell the Cobra and buy a DTT Planet Express ship (45 tons with the hold extension and VERY fast), build up cargo and mail reputation and no. of kills, which affects which contracts you're offered. I've now got a couple of hundred thousand in the bank and should be able to buy a Boa Clipper after another couple of runs across Galaxy 1.

[Norby]

Welcome back Commander!

has_shield_enhancer?

This is for NPCs only. Player ships need an EQ_NAVAL_SHIELD_BOOSTER as optional_equipment in shipyard.plist .

Nice multirole ships for you:
D.T.T. Galaxy Liner
[wiki]Trident Executive Shuttle[/wiki]

Alternatively, you can have more specialized ships for different jobs in [wiki]Hyperspace Hangar[/wiki].

[Frunobulax]

Thanks - funny how I could miss the Cobra XT. It's not linked on the Cobra page as a variant - strange, because it is by far the one that I like best, and has a very reasonable price. Very similar to the Boomslang. The Boomslang is essentially 115k more expensive but has better recharge rate (4,5 to 5), more maneuverability (2/1 to 2.1/1.3) and is smaller (130 x 35 x 73 to 95×20×60).

I did consider the Python Clipper. But it's not a bargain, not big enough to handle the large cargo jobs, and looks to have about the same fighting strength as the Cobbie, but is easier to hit. I would assume that it's better to spend 100k more on a Serpent Class Cruiser.

As for the DTT ships, they seem to be somewhat weaker than the Cobra?

Perhaps I'll by a vanilla Python, just to see what I can do with it, and to work up a cargo reputation. Then maybe I'll switch to the XT or the Boomslang.

[Smivs]

Perhaps I'll by a vanilla Python...

Do it! Seriously it's not the greatest ship ever, but I flew one for ages and it is was a great experience. You have to plan and think carefully, and need a bit of luck from time to time, but most of my happy Oolite memories seem to come from my time with the Python.

[Cody]

Perhaps I'll by a vanilla Python, just to see what I can do with it, and to work up a cargo reputation.

<nods> What Smivs said - a good ship, is the Python!

[Amah]

Add me to the list. Only considering the default ships I'd go for a Python as next step. Flew one with my last commander as a jack of all trades. Was much fun.

Nowadays more into a trader role I'm fond of the (Griff) Ophidian, which is a bit slower but has a reasonable cargo space for mid size cargo runs. I even managed (badly bruised tho) to escape a bunch of assassins with it and finished a parcel service I shouldn't have taken as it seems.

Of the ships I currently work on I'd personally choose the Yasen-N as a next step and then the Lira... Both are fun to fly while testing them. I think when I'm finished I'll start all over with 100c and a coba3 and try just that for real.